The “Ginger” Shorts

Fabric: 1 yard cotton sateen, leftover from this dressPattern:Colette 1022, gifted from GingerYear: 2012Notions: scrap interfacing, four metal buttons, $2 from Hancock; invisible zipper $1Time to complete: ~6 hours (most of which was spent on the buttons/buttonholes)First worn: July 23, around the houseWear again? Yes, though likely only at homeTotal cost: $3

Like many of you, I participated in this year’s Me-Made-May. Having several new Sew Weekly garments in my closet, I was confident that I had enough items pledge four days a week. As it turns out, I did but, only just. What’s more is that there were a few repeats and a few pieces I wouldn’t have worn if it weren’t MMM.

At the end of the month, I realized that while sewing pretty dresses is fun, I really need casual pieces. As a homemaker, I spend a lot of my time at home, doing less-than-glamorous chores. Shorts and tees were in order.

I was lucky enough in April to win Colette’s Iris pattern in Ginger’s giveaway and it seemed just the thing to have for my daily activities: polished and long enough to be suitable for running errands and comfortable and practical enough to wear while cleaning or walking CoCo.

I used leftover cotton sateen from my stash to craft a wearable muslin and threw on brass buttons for an expected hint of nautical. A few crotch (pardon!) alterations later and I had a suitable result. There are a few things I’ll change next time though. 1. I do not recommend cotton sateen. This pattern needs a fabric with more body and structure. 2. I remembered to move the buttons to the outer end of the buttonhole to minimize pulling but, I forgot to use the keyhole style hole so, there’s still buckling along the front. 3. I plan to tweak the pockets to extend them into the waistband and redraft the waistband to open along the pocket edges, eliminating the need for a side zipper.

Oh, and I mentioned tees were in order too. Well, I had a few days before we’d manage to squeeze in daylight time for photos (we nocturnal this month!) so, I took the opportunity to whip up a super-cozy version of MariaDenmark’s Kirsten Kimono Tee. Unfortunately, the knit and the sateen didn’t get along so, I opted to pair a rtw blue/white tee with the shorts instead. However, it’s a great tee pattern and I highly recommend you pop over and download it (it’s free!!). I already have a few more colors in my queue.

So, nothing glarorous this week (ha! when am I ever glamorous!?) but, my two new pieces are oh so comfortable and oh so practical. Now… back to the frosting!

Thanks, Bethany! The sateen I used (from JoAnn’s) is very soft and drapes well (for dresses/skirts) and does have a bit of stretch. It’s sheen just shows every serger edge and every body flaw in a garment like this. Next time, I’ll likely use a bottomweight twill or colored denim. Something with a bit more structure and a more forgiving finish ;-)

Those shorts are soo cute! How did you decide what crotch (yep i said it too) alterations to make? Did you try them on and alter them as you were sewing, or did you change the pattern before you started, based on previous pant-sewing experiences?

Thanks, Amber!! Truthfully, I just altered them as I was sewing. I didn’t think to measure before hand (tisk, tisk) so, after I sewed the curve and side seams (save for the zipper), I tried them on, noted the pull lines and then compared it to my crotch waist-to-waist measurement. Luckly, I was able to carve/re-shape it enough to make them presentable but, I’d recommend instead taking your measurements before cutting the fabric and adjusting the pattern as needed. Colette actually has a helpful cheat sheet for determining what changes you need to make. Hope that helps! :-)

Super-cute outfit!! Thanks for sharing the t-shirt pattern. Cotton sateen doesn’t seem to have enough elasticity to be cut using a pattern meant for jersey or stretchy knits, but I don’t know. Maybe there are some super-stretch cotton sateens out there that I just haven’t met yet.

Thanks, Adri! Oops, I wasn’t very clear, was I? (blame the odd sleep schedule!) Not to worry, I used a tissueweight knit for the t shirt, which is heavenly by the way. But, the knit was so lightweight, I had static cling issues as it rubbed the shorts so, I opted for the more stable rtw tee.

(hmm, there’s no reply button on your comment). Believe it or not, I found it at Hancock! It was with the cotton interlock but, I don’t see it online so, I’m not certain if it’d be available at all locations. (Mine only has it in black and grey.) Girl Charlee has a great selection of knits also. Though, I’ve not yet sewn with any of the ones I bought.

The whole outfit looks wonderful on you. I love the color combination and the nautical touch. The shorts look super cute and the pics don’t give away any of the flaws you mentioned. I can’t believe you’re only going to wear this around the house – you look really good in it.

About the Sew Weekly

The Sew Weekly began as Mena Trott's attempt to document the process of sewing all of her own clothes in 2010. In 2011, four other contributors (Debi Fry, Adey Lim, Veronica Darling & Sarah Gabbart) joined her and for 52 weeks, they sewed based on a particular weekly theme. In 2012, The Sew Weekly became a much larger group blog with over 130 contributors sewing along each week.